d your mind to
dwell on--hiding something; but whether vice or virtue you could not
tell.

He was dressed as unobtrusively as possible, entirely in black; and was
rather above the middle height. His manner was the only part of him that
betrayed anything to the observation of others. Viewed in connection
with his station, his demeanour (unobtrusive though it was) proclaimed
itself as above his position in the world. He had all the quietness and
self-possession of a gentleman. He maintained his respectful bearing,
without the slightest appearance of cringing; and displayed a decision,
both in word and action, that could never be mistaken for obstinacy
or over-confidence. Before I had been in his company five minutes, his
manner assured me that he must have descended to the position he now
occupied.

On his introduction to me, he bowed without saying anything. When he
spoke to Mr. Sherwin, his voice was as void of expression as his face:
it was rather low in tone, but singularly distinct in utterance. He
spoke deliberately, but with no emphasis on particular words, and
without hesitation in choosing his terms.

When Mrs. Sherwin came down, I watched her conduct towards him. She
could not repress a slight nervous shrinking, when he approached and
placed a chair for her. In answering his inquiries after her health, she
never once looked at him; but fixed her eyes all the time on Margaret
and me, with a sad, anxious expression, wholly indescribable, which
often recurred to my memory after that day. She always looked more or
less frightened, poor thing, in her husband's presence; but she seemed
positively awe-struck before Mr. Mannion.

In truth, my first observation of this so-called clerk, at North Villa,
was enough to convince me that he was master there--master in his own
quiet, unobtrusive way. That man's character, of whatever elements it
might be composed, was a character that ruled. I could not see this
in his face, or detect it in his words; but I could discover it in the
looks and manners of his employer and his employer's family, as he now
sat at the same table with them. Margaret's eyes avoided his countenance
much less frequently than the eyes of her parents; but then he rarely
looked at her in return--rarely looked at her at all, except when common
courtesy obliged him to do so.

If any one had told me beforehand, that I should suspend my ordinary
evening's occupation with my young wife, for the sake of obs